Welcome Remarks

Speaker: Laura Wilcox, WAHE Planning Committee Chair and Vice President for Communications, Council of Independent Colleges

Keynote Address: Inauspicious Beginnings on the Path to Leadership

Speaker: Gwen Dungy, Executive Director, NASPA, Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education

Multiple starting points and barriers encountered along the way can be keys to releasing our potential. Intentional and honest reflections on the paths we've traveled often lead to personal pearls of wisdom by which we live. Dungy will challenge you to use your wisdom to inform and prepare yourself for the rest of your leadership journey.

Break

Concurrent Sessions

Become the CEO of Your Own Life

Speakers: Janet Baldwin Anderson, Ph.D., and Beverly Jones, JD, MBA, Certified Leadership Coaches

In this interactive session, you will learn how coaching principles and practices can provide the tools and strategies you need to develop yourself as a leader and manage your life and career during times of stability as well as times of change. Through presentations of key coaching concepts and simple exercises, you will learn how to cultivate the mindsets, skills, and habits for authentic leadership and career development, and for maintaining the self-care that will nourish you in every part of your life’s journey.

Moderator: Laura Wilcox, Vice President for Communications, Council of Independent Colleges

Increasing Access to Higher Education for Disadvantaged Women

Speakers: Karen Dugger, Pathways Program, Towson University, Avis A. Jones-DeWeever, Ph.D. Director of Research, Public Policy and Information Center, National Council of Negro Women, and Carlota Ocampo, Ph.D., Associate Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, Trinity University

The panel will discuss how women-led, campus-based programs are increasing access to education for disadvantaged women by finding creative ways to circumvent policy and funding limitations. Topics will include outreach, counseling, programs, scholarships and other initiatives to increase access to education for these women that can be replicated at other campuses. 

Moderator: Kandi Morris, Legal and Regulatory Affairs Coordinator, American Council on Education

Women and Ambition

Speaker: Linda Mercurio, JD, Founder/President of Transformative Impact and Executive Director/Professional Coach, American University Washington College of Law, Lawyer Reentry Program

Why does the word “ambition” make women so uncomfortable? Why do women (particularly highly accomplished women) deny their ambitiousness? How does this denial harm their careers? What can women do to express their ambitiousness more confidently? This session will explore the two faces of ambition:  mastery and recognition, the subtle ways in which women’s ambitions are undermined, and what is necessary for women to articulate and fulfill their dreams.   

Moderator: Christine Mikulski, Program Coordinator, Center for Student Programs, Georgetown University

Luncheon: 35th Anniversary Celebration and Awards Ceremony

Awardees: Suzanne Forsyth, Management Consultant, and Donna Shavlik, Principal, The Timberline Group

The WAHE Planning Committee is pleased to present Suzanne Forsyth and Donna Shavlik, the original founders of Women Administrators in Higher Education in 1974, with awards of appreciation for recognizing the need for an organization to promote and advance women in higher education.

Featured Speaker: Shirley Pippins, Senior Vice President, Programs and Services, American Council on Education, will explore the role of women mentors and the importance of the ACE networks, as well as her vision for the Office of Women in Higher Education.

Concurrent Sessions

Narrowing the Wage Gap—Negotiating Skills for Women

Speaker: Kate C. Farrar, Director, Leadership and Training Institute, American Association of University Women

A key component to narrowing the wage gap is improving women’s negotiation skills. AAUW’s research, Campus Action Projects, and new partnership with the WAGE Project illustrate ways to engage women in the issues of pay equity and the skills of negotiating. Learn firsthand about these programs and skills and how they can be of use for women in higher education.

Moderator: Khandi Bourne, Ed.D., Distinguished Visiting Professor, Department of Education, Argosy University - DC campus

Encouraging the Entrepreneur in You
Download the session handout (PDF).

Speakers: Ginger Fay, Director of Fay College Counseling, LLC, Andrea Jarrell, Independent Communications Consultant, and Madeline Yates, Executive Director, Maryland Campus Compact

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to run your own business? Would you like to pursue one of your passions in a professional role of your own creation? This concurrent session is designed to provide concrete examples of how to start your own business or nonprofit organization. Learn about the ups and downs of working for yourself from three women who have ventured out on their own to make a living that fits their life goals. The panelists represent a wide variety of backgrounds: they are helping students pursue higher education; creating strategies and shaping stories for colleges, universities, and independent schools; and organizing a state-wide network of college presidents to engage their institutions in meaningful service to and partnerships with their local and global communities.

Moderator: Maggie Margiotta Melson, Special Assistant to the President, St. John’s College

The Transformational Dimension of Leadership—Accessing the Inner Place from Which We Lead
Download the session handout (PDF).

Speakers: Mary Gallo, Ph.D, University of San Francisco; and Kathleen Snyder, Ph.D., Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities

This presentation introduces transformational leadership in the context of using the inner self and one’s core values to develop a personal leadership model that fosters open-mindedness, imagination, and a heightened sense of engagement and commitment to others. This inner-dimension of leadership allows us to serve and encourage the highest potential in self and others. The approach includes concepts from servant leadership and the 450 year-old practices of Jesuit higher education. The application of these leadership principles informs responsible decision-making and action. The key element is where these actions originate from – the inner place from which we lead.

Moderator: Melissa DiLeonardo, Director of Communications, Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities

Plenary Address: The Last Generation of Firsts: Leadership for a New Century 

Speaker: Muriel Howard, President, American Association of State Colleges and Universities

Howard will address the benefits that society reaps from its investment in educational opportunities for women and underserved populations. She will view these issues from her perspective as the first female president of Buffalo State College in New York and now the first female and first African American president of AASCU.

Moderator: Chris Cavanaugh, Director, Training and Professional Development, Division of Development and Alumni Relations, George Washington University

Special Address by Martha Kanter, Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Education

Networking Reception

Remarks: Donna Burns Phillips, Director, Office of Women in Higher Education, American Council on Education